


Five Moments of Friendship Is Magic

by Five Moments of Zanii (Zaniida)



Series: Five Moments of Intimacy (Alt Fandoms) [9]
Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: 5MI, Compare and Contrast, FMI, Five Moments of Intimacy, Friendship, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Pagefic Chapters, Platonic Female/Female Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26420644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaniida/pseuds/Five%20Moments%20of%20Zanii
Summary: In an effort to get to know her new friends, Twilight Sparkle had made the questionable decision to spend a day with each of them.  Just a "normal" day, to see how they lived.
Relationships: Twilight Sparkle & Friends
Series: Five Moments of Intimacy (Alt Fandoms) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626043
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: August Intimacy - September Stragglers 2020





	1. 'Cuz I know everypony in Ponyville!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ReaderFreak5000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderFreak5000/gifts).



> So... I've watched a fair number of episodes, but not recently, except as some quick looks into a few to remind myself of the aesthetic. I haven't watched the more recent seasons and I haven't watched 100% of the earlier seasons, so it's more than likely that I don't know enough to portray the characters accurately. So count this as a likely AU portrayal, though I would certainly like to hear how my versions differ from the canonical characters.
> 
> Also please note that this is a Gen-rated Gen fic with zero interest in sexuality. I feel like this disclaimer shouldn't be necessary, least of all on a children's cartoon about horses, but apparently it _is_ , because our culture has gotten mixed up about what the word "Intimacy" actually means. The whole point of the "Five Moments of (Nonsexual) Intimacy" fic form is to demonstrate that _Intimacy is not inherently sexual_ \-- that there are many ways for two characters to be deeply intimate without wanting to get in each other's pants. So... yeah.
> 
>  **ReaderFreak5000** , honestly I have no idea if you even like _My Little Pony_ , but when I was considering who I might gift this to, you came to mind due to your Neopets fic (fics? _fics??_ You started writing more stuff and I missed it! Go you!), so I thought you might enjoy this. Hope I wasn't too far off base ^_^
> 
> Anyway, my first foray into _My Little Pony_ :

In an effort to get to know her new friends, Twilight Sparkle had made the questionable decision to spend a day with each of them, just a _normal_ day to see how they lived.

The point of the exercise hadn’t quite gotten across to Pinkie Pie—that, or maybe none of Pinkie’s days actually qualify as “normal”—because Pinkie drags her from place to place, enthusiastically explaining each pony’s name and role, their preferences and relationships and quirky things about them and then moving on to the next with barely a pause for breath.

The day is predictably overwhelming. A pony less trained in quick study would not be able to keep up with a small fraction of Pinkie’s explanations; as it is, Twilight manages to take in about sixty percent of the first dozen or so “introductions” and an ever-diminishing portion of each subsequent one until, by noon, she’s worn down to a quickly jotted name and one (hopefully) useful piece of information about them.

“Is this… how you spend… every day?” she gasps out when they break for a quick lunch.

“Silly! If I did this _every_ day, I’d never have any time for fun on my own!”

“Then… what is… the point here?”

“To make sure that everypony is enjoying themselves, of course!” Pinkie’s expression changes rapidly as she rattles on: “See, if anypony needed help and nopony paid attention, they’d be stressed instead of happy, right? So every week I check in on everypony and make sure that they have whatever they need. Since I know everypony in town, I know what each pony can do, and since I know what each pony can do, if one of them needs help then I know who to ask! Because it would break my heart if there was an easy solution to the problem and it didn’t happen just because they didn’t know who to go to for help!”

“That’s… surprisingly logical,” Twilight admits. In fact, the more she talks with Pinkie, the more she finds that there’s an underlying rationality to her behavior—well, most of the time. Some of the weirdness they’ve been through today seems beyond explanation, but, on the whole, she’d expected Pinkie to be far more scatterbrained than she turns out to be.

And a bit more self-centered, to be honest; she’d expected Pinkie to be focused mostly on her own enjoyment, but it turns out that she takes her role quite seriously. Even if that means running off to arrange a welcoming party for a newcomer before even getting to know her.

Then Pinkie turns to Twilight and takes a deep breath. “So what is it that _you_ need, Twilight? Are you settling in okay? Is there anything else that you need to know? Does Spike need any special dragon supplies? What could I do to make things easier for you?”

“Honestly, I can’t think of anything just yet,” Twilight says. Then she chuckles. “But when I do, I’ll know just who to ask.”


	2. Farmhand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For her second day getting to know her friends, Twilight helps out on Sweet Apple Acres. Turns out it takes a lot of work to keep a farm runnin'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day three of the Twelve Days of Christmas fics! Coming in just under the wire with an alt-fandom piece that I've been sitting on for weeks (it just needed the barest polish to get ready), but I made it!
> 
>  **ReaderFreak** , hope you're doing well. I'm pleased that you've been making headway with your writing ~|^_^|~

Earth Ponies are known for their stamina, so of course Twilight can’t keep up with Applejack’s family when it comes to the never-ending series of chores that keeps the farm running. After Twilight has nearly fainted a couple of times, Applejack starts shoving her off to the watering troughs near the end of every hour, for a break that the rest of the family doesn’t seem to need.

Even so, by the time Twilight has gathered eggs, fed the pigs, washed the sheep, pulled weeds _(after she’d learned to tell the difference between the weeds and the carrots)_ , checked all the grape trellises for any necessary repairs, swept out the barn, scrubbed a wagon, hung up the laundry, painted a shed, mowed the lawn, and put all the tools back in their proper order, she’s about as exhausted as she’s ever felt in her entire life.

Also famished. As the food gets set out for lunch, she finds herself _drooling_. “I am _so_ ready for this day to be over,” she declares as she begins to load her plate.

“T’ain’t hardly noon,” Applejack counters. “That’s when we start tending to the orchard.”

_(Twilight looks up at the sun directly above them, and lets out a despairing groan.)_

Devouring a gigantic pile of food doesn’t seem to stop the family from chattering away, several conversations cheerfully overlapping; Twilight’s not used to this much talk _period_ , let alone being so impolite as to talk with one’s mouth full. At least they mostly talk with each other—after Twilight has answered a few basic questions and they’ve stopped thinking of her as a novelty.

Before too long, Twilight finds herself swept away in the camaraderie of a big family as they share grins and laughs, trade jokes and stories, even tussle around a little or steal each other’s hats. Watching their exchanges, she’s struck by what she missed out on, growing up with only a brother and her parents and Spike. Or, for that matter, spending most of her time with books instead of people, to the point where it took a very literal disaster to shake her out of her solitude and open her up to the benefits of… connection. Companionship amid diversity.

The latter half of the day is spent pruning and fertilizing the trees, then checking the leaves, trunks, and roots for disease and then going over miles upon miles of fencing. _(“Most o’ the time, we’re fine, but a break in the fence can let in a ton o’ critters,” Applejack explains. “They can take down a harvest right quick if we don’t notice in time t’ chase ’em out.”)_ By the time the bell calls them in for supper, Twilight finds herself sapped of energy (and ravenous again).

While escorting a sleepy Twilight back to the library, Applejack sighs contentedly. “I know y’ain’t used to a hard day’s work,” she says, “but ya did good. Gonna be sore in the mornin’, though. Might see if Rarity could take ya to that spa she goes to. I don’t much care for that kind o’ pampering myself, but relaxation sure feels great after you’ve truly worked yer heart out.”

When Twilight falls into bed that night, she’s never felt more grateful for a good soft mattress. Exhausted, yes, more than she’s ever been in her life, but… surprisingly satisfied with her day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday I had practically no time to work on anything; hope I do better tonight. Got a lot of pieces lined up just waiting to be cobbled together!

**Author's Note:**

> Y'know, I had seriously intended this to be the opening fic for my [August Intimacy](https://allbingo.dreamwidth.org/162885.html) event. The FMI: FIM correlation was just too good to pass up. But I got stuck on the writing, and August came and went, so, well... opening move for the September Stragglers! (Sigh.)
> 
> [Five Moments of (Nonsexual) Intimacy](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1439153) (FMI, 5MI, or FMNI) is a fic form highlighting five categories of intimacy: Physical/Sensual, Emotional, Experiential, Secret Sharing, and Vulnerability/Acceptance. This chapter highlights experiential intimacy, just sharing time together but also, to some degree, the concept that Pinkie and Twilight are both specced toward keeping track of and helping out those under their "care." At least, as I've portrayed Pinkie here.
> 
> This is yet another entry in my [FMI Alt-Fandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626043) set, which will have nine entries as of posting this piece. I have many more pieces planned for various fandoms outside my main two ( _Person of Interest_ and the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but since they're not my main fandoms, they tend to slot in around bigger projects, and often when I'm procrastinating. (Which is also why updating these fics is not high priority, though I do intend to finish as many as I can.)


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